This American Life
Chicago Public Media
Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
Location:
Chicago, IL
Networks:
Chicago Public Media
Description:
Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
Twitter:
@thisamerlife
Language:
English
Website:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
Email:
web@thislife.org
Episodes
842: 51 Days
10/7/2024
Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza.
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Duration:00:58:38
841: My Senior Year
9/23/2024
One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience.
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Duration:00:57:46
840: How Are You Not Seeing This?
9/16/2024
People trying and struggling to see what another person sees.
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Duration:00:59:39
839: Meet Me at the Fair
9/9/2024
Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for.
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Duration:01:04:21
801: Must Be Rats on the Brain
9/2/2024
The one animal we can’t seem to live without, even when we really, really want to.
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Duration:01:09:46
754: Spark Bird
8/26/2024
Stories about birds and the hearts they sway, the havoc they wreak, the lives they change.
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Duration:01:03:26
838: Letters! Actual Letters!
8/19/2024
When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down.
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Duration:00:58:43
837: Swim Towards the Shark
8/12/2024
In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond?
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Duration:01:05:46
803: Greetings, People Of Earth
8/5/2024
Humans encounter non-human intelligences of various kinds and try to make sense of them.
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Duration:01:03:13
172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple
7/29/2024
We document one day in a Chicago diner called the Golden Apple, starting at 5 a.m. and going until 5 a.m. the next morning. We hear from the waitress who has worked the graveyard shift for over two decades, the regular customers who come every day, the couples working out their problems, assorted drunks, and, of course, cops.
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Duration:00:58:05
836: The Big Rethink
7/22/2024
People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives — with their sister, their political party, and the nominee for president.
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Duration:00:59:40
794: So Close and Yet So Far
7/15/2024
People so close to each other, in extremely intimate situations, who are also a million miles apart.
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Duration:01:03:43
443: Amusement Park
7/8/2024
We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs.
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Duration:01:00:25
835: Children of Dave
7/1/2024
Boen Wang has a theory that a lot of the misery in his life can be traced to a single moment that happened years before he was born. So he makes a pilgrimage to see if he’s right.
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Duration:01:01:10
834: Yousef and the Fourth Move
6/17/2024
In Rafah, Yousef is out of options and faces his toughest move yet.
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Duration:00:58:11
833: Come Retribution
6/10/2024
Donald Trump has talked about taking retribution on his enemies since the early days of his 2024 presidential campaign. After his conviction last week in New York, his talk intensified. We try to understand what his retribution might look like by speaking with people who have the most to lose in a second Trump administration: people who believe Trump will be coming for them.
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Duration:01:02:23
832: That Other Guy
6/3/2024
People tethered to one particular other person, whether they want to be or not.
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Duration:01:04:29
831: Lists!!!
5/27/2024
How they organize the chaos of the world, for good and for bad.
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Duration:01:02:35
830: The Forever Trial
5/20/2024
The trial for the men accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks still hasn’t started yet. Family members of those who died that day are still hoping for some kind of accountability, more than 22 years later. This week, the story of how one victim’s sister is navigating this historic and twisted trial.
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Duration:01:02:33
829: Two Ledgers
5/13/2024
For years, Majid believed that if he could testify in court about what happened to him when he was held in a CIA black site, a judge and jury would give him a break. Finally, he got a chance to see if he was right.
Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org
Duration:01:04:16